The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich – Operation Anthropoid [VIDEO]

The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich – Operation Anthropoid

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Transcription: In 1942, the Czech resistance launched one of the most daring missions of World War II—the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a top Nazi official known as the “Butcher of Prague.” As the architect of the Final Solution, Heydrich was one of Hitler’s most feared men, overseeing the brutal occupation of Czechoslovakia and mass executions across Eastern Europe.

On May 27, 1942, Czech paratroopers Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, trained by the British, ambushed Heydrich’s car in Prague. Gabčík’s submachine gun jammed, but thinking he was safe, Heydrich made a fatal mistake—he stood up to return fire. That’s when Kubiš threw a grenade, shattering the vehicle and wounding Heydrich.

At first, it seemed he might survive, but days later, infection set in, and on June 4, 1942, he died. Hitler retaliated brutally, ordering the massacre of thousands, including the complete destruction of the village of Lidice, where every man was executed, and women and children were sent to concentration camps.

Despite the cost, Operation Anthropoid proved that the Nazi elite were not untouchable and remains one of the war’s most heroic resistance efforts. The assassination also led the Nazis to accelerate their plans for the Holocaust, as Heydrich had been a key architect of genocide. Today, the mission is remembered as a defining act of resistance against Nazi tyranny.